Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Review: Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe

Grace has one summer to prove she’s good enough.
For Grace Parker, surfing is all about the ride and the moment. Everything else disappears. She can forget that her best friend, Ford Watson, has a crush on her that she can’t reciprocate. She can forget how badly she wants to get a surf scholarship to UC San Diego. She can forget the pressure of her parents’ impossibly high expectations.
When Ford enters Grace into a surf competition—the only way she can impress the UCSD surfing scouts—she has one summer to train and prepare. Will she gain everything she’s ever wanted or lose the only things that ever mattered?

I love picking up books where you go into them expecting a
light summery read, but you’re left ending up with a deep emotionally
overwhelming story.

Surfing is Grace’s thing, it’s always been something she’s
good at. So with a big surfing tournament around the corner and well known
scouts rumoured to be there. Grace knows she has to up her game but this gets
difficult when her best friend Ford and surf trainer decides to intern at
Grace’s dads law firm over the summer. On top of that Grace’s dad puts extra
pressure on her to get into one of the Ivy League colleges. Has anyone stopped
to see what Grace actually wants to do? She’s getting all this pressure from
everyone but shouldn’t she just follow her heart?

I really did feel for Grace, she was always one to keep what
was going on in her life private. Her perfect family image everyone saw was a
big lie, and these feelings she had for her best friend Ford, she decided to
deny whenever it came up. Grace was super talented and she knew she had a great
shot at getting scouted, but her parents had entirely different opinions.
Grace’s parents were the worst; her dad had a fake facade that had everyone
thinking he was a decent man, but then at home he was just hell. Then there was
Grace’s mum, she was always quick to make assumptions about everyone and then
always put Grace down. However what pained me the most about her was that she
was never there when Grace needed her the most, she just shut down everything
Grace did or said. Despite having crap parents, Grace tried her best to rise
above it all, and I truly did admire her characters strength. She did make a
few mistakes along the way, but hiding a secret as big as she did, I understood
why she kept everything away from Ford.

With dual narratives from both Grace and Ford, we were given
great insights into both characters. I adored Ford (his real name is Ferdinand,
which I preferred) he was sweet, down to earth and such a fun guy. He had his
over protective role over Grace nailed, but he was also able to lighten the
mood with his jokes and banter. But what I adored the most about was him that
he always knew what mattered to him the most; his family and his roots, he was
never one to forget how important this was and tried to as much as he could to
make a difference. Ford’s parents were also great; they clearly illustrated
what honest parents are meant to be like with their insightful wisdom they
imparted on Ford, and how they were also quick to take Grace in whenever she
needed a place to hang out.

Despite some of the focus on dark family issues, Riptide was
also a story laced with scenes of summer fun and beautiful friendships. There
was a lot of surf lingo dotted throughout, but just like Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar, I still
found myself enthralled by a mesmerising read. Riptide was a story I’m glad I
gave a try; it was littered with beautiful achy scenes, but also a lot of fun
along the way. If you’re in the mood for something different I definitely
recommend giving Riptide a try.

I've been wondering about this one, Jasprit, so I'm so glad to see your take on it! I trust your opinion, and I like that this one might just be more than it looks like, which is a simple, classic summer read. It sounds like it might just be up my alley. Great honest thoughts!

I honestly hadn't heard of Riptide until last week. It sounds like a book I would truly enjoy. I tend to really like books w/surfing (Raw Blue!) even though I'm not familiar w/the terms. Grace and Ford sound like great characters, too. Excellent review, Jasprit!

This sounds like a really good book, Jasprit. I'm definitely surprised that it's a lot deeper than you expected. I would have expected a light summery book too. Good lord, her parents sound like the worst people to exist on this planet! It sounds like the MC has a lot on her shoulders!Great review, Jasprit!

This one would trick me too. From the blurb it sounded like a nice and easy summer read but now I see. I love when books are tougher than they seem it always surprises me and I enjoy more. But there is that thing with the parents...they always sounds like maniacs in the books. Great review Jasprit :)

I expected more of a nice fun summer romance too. Sadly, the book didn't work for me but I'm glad you were able to enjoy it. I did, however, admire Grace for having a pretty good head on her shoulders with parents as horrible as she had. Great review! :)

I like the sound of this one Jasprit, but I think I would have trouble with it simply because it bears a resemblance to Raw Blue (which you mentioned), and I loved Raw Blue so much that everything else will pale in comparison next to it. BUT, I do love the sound of Ford, and I love that this one was a bit more emotionally intense than you thought going in. That's always a good surprise!

I've been going back and forth about reading it or not, seeing that it has so many negative review, so it's good to know that you actually enjoyed it. Grace's father is awful and I bet he'll be on the other side on my ranting when I read this book. Thanks for the lovely review, Jasprit! You just convinced me to give this book a try :)

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Ford does sound like a really great guy I'd like to meet. Who'd have thought a book about surfing would have such deeper issues? Especially with this cover! Not me lol. Lovely review Jasprit :)

I like the dual narratives and the friendships and I didn't see anything about a love triangle. I know nothing about surfing so I would be interested to pick this up and glean a bit of info on surfing.

I am so lucky with my parents. They do push me, but they never force me and they always aspire me to go for my dreams. I'm sad for people (and characters) who are in this kind of situation like Grace is. I love the sound of Frod, by the way! I do think it sounds like a great summer read with all the surfing going on and since it's already on my tbr pile, I'd be glad to read it during this summer:-)

Wow! This book sounds amazing. I really love all kinds of YA summer books, but I do prefer deep ones the I remember long after I've finished. This book sounds exactly like that, and Grace sounds like a very interesting character to read about.Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!

I love novels that weave in sports and surfing is definitely something I have never seen before. I also like that you get both perspectives and I am with you on Ferdinand being way better than Ford. I think this could definitely be one for me because I am all about issue books! This will be going on my TBR. Great review!

Books just keep surprising you with their depth lately, it seems. :) Grace's home situation really does sound terrivle, but I love that she kept it private. She sounds like someone I could easily relate to. For some reason, I just adore the name Ferdinand. I'm pretty sure I'll name my next Kindle that, once Ferguson retires. Also, did you have to mention Raw Blue? Now I have to read this.Great review, Jasprit!

Sounds like an pretty awesome book :) I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, even though it wasn't all perfect. <3 The characters sounds all kinds of awesome :) And I do love a book full of emotions, hih (A) Thank you for sharing. <3

I haven't heard much about this book at all, but I'm interested in pickin it up now! I also love reading books that turn out to be so much more than it previously looked like. Grace sounds like a character I would really love: genuine and flawed, and real. I love the added surfing elements, and I can totally relate to the pressure of parents as well. Thanks for sharing your lovely review, dear! :)

I like that there is a little bit of humour in this. Also, I can't say the name Ferdinand without thinking of Rio. ;) Ford sounds like a really great character, though! I'm glad you liked this one overall, Jasprit. Fantastic review.

I started this one the other day but only made it a few pages before moving on to something else. I think I was just in the wrong mood for it but I also think I was/am in the mood to reread Raw Blue if I want to read about surfing:) I just love that book so much. I'm glad to hear that you liked this one, though, as I'd read a few (or at least one) review/s that were annoyed at how the multiculturalism was dealt with. Your review definitely keeps this on my TBR list.

This sounds fun - I like books about surfing (I don't know why really, I've never tried it myself, but I like reading about it!), and the contrast between Grace and Ford's parents sounds interesting, although Grace's mum and dad sound pretty horrible!